


Growing Pains

by HighlyOpinionatedNerd



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Hope you like it!, I feel like the summary is a bit misleading though-, Post-Canon, create the content you wish to see in the world and all that, that's all, this is really just the story of how the Raijinshuu collectively decided to adopt Wendy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighlyOpinionatedNerd/pseuds/HighlyOpinionatedNerd
Summary: Wendy Marvell is sixteen. She's far from home, and a crushing defeat has just left her powerless and alone. She's hurt, angry, upset, and confused. Laxus Dreyar is twenty-seven, and he's seen that look in her eyes before. He knows it's up to him to be there for her in the way that no one ever was for him, when he was the one in her position. It's up to him to keep her from repeating his mistakes.
Relationships: Chelia Blendy/Wendy Marvell, Laxus Dreyar/Freed Justine
Comments: 12
Kudos: 67





	Growing Pains

“What’s in this town,” Bickslow asked, peering over Freed’s shoulder at the map spread out on his lap, “anything good?”

“‘Good’ is a rather vague word. What, specifically, are you interested in?”

“I don’t know. How about ‘remarkable’? Or, ‘noteworthy’?”

“Well, there’s Lamia Scale.”

“Oh, really? I guess I didn’t realize we were that far East.”

“We should drop by,” Evergreen said, from her seat across the train cabin.

“Why?” scoffed Laxus.

“Why not? We know some of the mages there. It’s always nice to catch up with friends from other guilds.”

“They aren’t my friends.”

“They won’t be your allies, either, with that attitude.”

“Maybe they’ll give us free food,” Bickslow said hopefully.

“I don’t think it’d hurt to stop in,” Freed shrugged. “We’ll be staying in town for a few hours anyway, waiting for our train back to Magnolia.”

Laxus rolled his eyes, but he knew when he was outvoted. “Alright, have it your way. We’ll drop by Lamia Scale.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t make you socialize for long,” Evergreen said cheerfully, patting his arm.

“Shut up. Come on, we’re almost there, we should start getting our things together.”

The four of them departed the train at the station and, following Freed’s map, walked the few blocks’ distance to Lamia Scale.

“Hello!” Evergreen called, strolling confidently through the door. “Can we come in?”

There were only a few guild members in the common room, huddled together around a table in the corner. When the Raijinshuu entered they hastily broke off their conversation and turned to look at them.

“Hey,” Lyon said, breaking away from the group and hurrying to meet them. “Hey, thanks for getting here so quick.”

Freed frowned. “I’m sorry, did...did you send for us?”

Lyon frowned, too. “Yes? You didn’t get the message we sent to Fairy Tail?”

“We’re coming from the opposite direction,” Bickslow said, gesturing vaguely, “on our way back to Fairy Tail. Why, what’s happened?”

“It’s Wendy,” Lyon explained. “She’s hurt.”

“What? Our Wendy, Wendy Marvell? What on Earth happened?”

“It’s, uh, kind of a long story…”

“Give us the short version,” Laxus said, stepping forward.

“Uh...alright, ok, um...well, there’s a festival, happening in town soon, and we’re all really busy setting up for it, so Wendy came to visit, to help-”

“Shorter version, Lyon.”

“Oh, s-sorry. Shorter version, right. Wendy and Chelia were in town, and there was a bank robbery-”

“A _bank robbery_?”

“I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true! This local gang of thugs showed up to, yes, literally rob the bank. In broad daylight.”

“Get to the point, Lyon! These guys hurt Wendy?”

“How did a group of idiots like that manage to hurt Wendy?”

“They had some kind of weapon,” Lyon explained, running a hand through his hair. “From what I understand, it was made from crushed up anti-magic stones. You know, the things they have in prisons, that take away your magic?”

“They took away her _magic_?”

“Yeah. Yeah, they did. She and Chelia are both, uh...they’re both hurt pretty bad.”

“God,” Evergreen muttered, putting her head in her hands.

“How bad,” Bickslow demanded, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder.

Lyon grimaced. “Pretty bad, man. Chelia’s _still_ unconscious. The doctor says she’ll be ok, in time, but...”

“These thugs,” Freed said. “They got away?”

“Yes.”

“They’re on the loose with a weapon like that?”

“Calm down, Freed,” Laxus said quietly.

“Calm down? Laxus, this is serious! We have to do something!”

“Freed, calm _down_. If this gang of thugs was smart enough to create a weapon like that, you really think they would have pulled that bank robbing stunt? Obviously they got the weapon from somewhere else.”

“That makes sense,” Lyon said. “So...so, so what do you recommend we do, then?”

“The gang isn’t a big deal. You know how they operate now, next time you won’t be caught off guard. The ones who sold them those weapons are a little more concerning, but we can’t do anything about them without more intel. Our first priority should be to take care of Wendy and her friend.”

Lyon nodded. “Well said.”

“Lyon, is Wendy alright? I mean, have you spoken with her?”

“She was kind of dazed when we brought her back here. But I saw her again, when we brought the doctor in. She seemed pretty upset.”

Laxus sighed. “I’ll go and speak with her. You three, find out everything you can about what happened. Then, you might as well head out and start looking for a place to stay- seems like we’ll be staying the night.”

“She’s in the guest room, upstairs,” Lyon said, gesturing.

“Thanks.”

Laxus climbed the stairs and found the room Lyon had indicated.

When he opened the door, Wendy was there, alright. She was standing up, one hand steadying herself on one of the bedposts, the other clutching at her bandaged ribcage. Her head jerked up suddenly when he entered, her long, messy blue hair falling into her face.

“Hey.”

“L...Laxus-san?”

“What are you doing?”

“Going downstairs.”

Laxus raised an eyebrow. “Really now. Kid, you should be in bed.”

“I’m alright,” she said, pushing herself away from the bed. Laxus didn’t miss the way she grimaced in pain as she straightened up. “I have to find Chelia.”

“She’s out cold, from what I’ve heard.”

“What?! It’s been hours! Hasn’t she seen the doctor? What’s-”

“Look, I don’t know the whole situation,” Laxus interrupted, raising his hands. “I just got here. But from what I’ve heard, it sounds like she just needs time to heal. Same as you.”

“No, I’m alright,” Wendy insisted, taking an unsteady step forward. “It’s my fault those guys got away. I want to help find them again.”

“Yeah? And how are you going to do that, with no magic?”

“There has to be _something_ I can do.”

“You need rest.”

“I can rest later, I need to-”

“Wendy.” Laxus took a step forward too, frowning down at her. “I know you’re upset. I get it. But when you’re hurt, you don’t get to just decide you’re well enough to walk again. You don’t get to pick when you’re through healing.”

“I’m not a child anymore, Laxus-san,” Wendy snapped defensively. “I’m sixteen, and I know what I’m doing! I can fight for myself!”

“I never said you couldn’t.”

“Fine, then get out of my way!”

“No.”

She bristled angrily, but before she could make any kind of move to try to get around him again, Laxus reached out and poked her in the ribs.

Wendy hissed in pain, stumbled back a step, and fell heavily back onto the bed.

“Uh-huh, thought so.”

“That hurt! What was that for!”

“You can barely even stand up. You’re in no shape to be fighting anyone, let alone an unknown group of thugs with anti-magic weapons!”

“They caught me by surprise last time, that’s all,” she insisted, getting to her feet again. “I can beat them this time.”

“Not like that you can’t. You need to stay here and heal up for a little wh-.”

“I don’t have _time_ to just sit around, Laxus-san! Don’t you get it? Those guys are still out there! We have to find them before they strike again, or more innocent people will get hurt!”

Laxus sighed, internally willing himself not to raise his voice back at her.

“Use your head,” he said, as calmly as he could manage, “After a score like that, there won’t be another hit for a couple weeks, at least. Spending the money they got will keep them busy enough for the time being.”

“And what, you’d have me just stay in bed, instead of finding where they are? When we could stop that next hit before it even happens?!”

“Stop kidding yourself. You have no chance of finding them if they don’t want to be found.”

“Well I have to try! I have to do _something_!”

Wendy’s voice broke on the last word, and she paused to swipe angrily at the tears threatening to spill out over her cheeks. Laxus sighed again.

“Sit.”

“No, I’m fi-”

“ _Sit_. Please.”

She stood there glowering at him for another moment, then did as she was instructed.

“Look,” Laxus said carefully, “I’ve been where you’re at. Several times. So trust me when I say I know what you’re going through. But you need to cool off, alright?”

Wendy nodded sullenly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I j-just...just want to help...”

“I know you do. But you’re too close to this.” Laxus hesitated momentarily, wondering how to phrase the next part without having her blow up at him again. “Wendy...I know you said you wanted to protect the innocent townspeople who might get hurt. But I think you need to ask yourself if that’s what this is really about.”

“...Huh?”

“When you’re hurt, and the people you care about are hurt, it’s natural to want revenge on the people who hurt you. And it’s easy to justify that by saying things like, ‘I have to protect the other people who _might_ get hurt’.”

“What are you talking about? I _do_ just want to protect the townspeople!”

“I never said you didn’t. The two things can coexist. What I mean is…” Laxus gestured vaguely, searching for the right words. “When you go back out there to fight, you have to make sure that that is the _only_ reason you’re doing it. Because fighting for revenge and fighting to protect are two completely different headspaces. Wanting revenge makes you emotional, makes you make stupid mistakes. You understand?”

“No, I don’t. Wanting to protect others and wanting to protect myself, and Chelia, from further harm, aren’t they the same thing?”

“No. Definitely not.”

Wendy threw up her arms in frustration. “Well, they seem the same to me!”

“I know. But until you can separate those two things out, you’re in no condition to fight those guys again.”

“How, then? How do you separate them?”

“You have to accept that what happened happened, and move on. You have to let go of your own involvement in this situation. You have to understand that it’s not about you. And yes,” he said, seeing the look on her face, “I know how stupid that sounds. But it’s the truth. You’ll get it, in time.”

“So you do just want me to sit here and do nothing.”

“It’ll work out better that way, believe me.”

“I’m not sure I do believe you, Laxus-san.”

“Look, are you going to be good and wait here and heal up, or are you going to make me keep you here by force?”

Wendy took a deep breath. “Fine, you win. I’ll stay. But only for a few days. Just until my magic goes back to normal, and I can heal Chelia.”

“Fine. I will hold you to that though.”

Wendy didn’t dignify that with an answer. Just rolled her eyes and huffed at him.

Laxus shook his head, smiling a little. Who’d have thought that Wendy Marvell, historically the sweetest and most innocent member of Fairy Tail, would grow up to be so much like he had been when he was her age? Not him, that was for sure. Ironic how the tables had turned, he thought; with him now playing the role of cautioning adult to her rebellious teen.

“I’m going back downstairs,” he said, turning around and starting towards the door. “You should get some r-”

“Get some rest. Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Laxus smiled again. She’d be alright. If this unanticipated role reversal proved anything, it was that even the most rebellious of teens could get their act together, given time and support.

“Call if you need anything,” he said over his shoulder before gently closing the door behind him.

Wendy spent a long time after that conversation sitting in bed and absolutely fuming about it. What right did Laxus- Laxus Dreyar, of all people!- have to say any of those things to her? How dare he?!

But after a while, her anger faded. She just didn’t have the energy to be mad about it anymore.

She thought a bit about what he’d said, and even tried to do as he’d told her and examine her own feelings. To look at the situation more logically and less emotionally. But that kind of introspection and focus took a lot of energy too, and it wasn’t long before her mind began to wander.

She was worried about Chelia. She was the only healer Lamia Scale had ever needed. What would they do now that it was her who needed medical attention? Would a non-magical doctor’s skills be enough to heal her wounds and restore her magic? Just how bad were her injuries, anyway???

A soft knock at her door brought her abruptly back to reality.

“Wendy? It’s Freed. May I come in?”

“Oh, yes,” Wendy called, “yes, come in.”

“Hey there,” the green-haired man said, smiling at her as he stepped into the room. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You didn’t,” Wendy assured him, pushing herself up into a sitting position despite the pain in her ribs. “Is there news about Chelia?”

“Ah...no, nothing new that I’ve heard. When we first arrived we were told that she was stable, although still unconscious. I think if there had been any change, someone would have said something.”

“Oh...Ok.”

“I’ll check with the guild master when I go back down,” Freed said quickly, seeing the look on Wendy’s face. “I’ll make sure that, if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.”

Wendy smiled. “Thank you, Freed-san, I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Here, I brought you these.”

He stepped forward and handed Wendy a paper bag- inside were several sets of carefully folded clothes.

“Since it seems like you’re going to be here for a few days,” Freed explained as Wendy pulled out one of the sweaters. “I hope they’ll fit alright, I had to guess your size...”

“You didn’t have to do that, Freed-san,” Wendy said, holding the sweater up. It looked like a perfect fit. The tag was still on it, swinging idly from one sleeve.

“Well, I couldn’t leave you here without even a change of clothes! Here, there’s these too.”

He handed over another bag, this one filled with toiletries. He’d even bought her a new hairbrush.

“Thank you,” Wendy said sincerely. “Once I get back to Magnolia I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“No, please, don’t worry about it.”

“But...!”

“Really, Wendy, I mean it. You’re still young. It’s ok to rely on adults every now and again, you know? You can repay me by paying the favor forward someday to someone else.”

“Alright, if you say so….”

“I do. Now, I’m going to go downstairs and ask after Chelia for you. So you just stay here and rest easy, ok? Let us handle things and just focus on getting better.”

“O-ok. Thank you,” Wendy called again after Freed as he turned to take his leave once again.

“Don’t mention it,” he said over his shoulder with another reassuring smile. “Now go to sleep already.”

Wendy smiled too as the door clicked shut behind him, shaking her head bemusedly. Carefully she refolded the sweater she’d pulled out of the bag and put it back in its place. Then she laid back down and closed her eyes. No more thinking- time to follow Freed’s advice and sleep.

In the end, she did manage to fall asleep. And she slept for hours, only waking again in the evening when her stomach began to complain.

She ate a simple meal in the guild’s common area. The rest and the food seemed to have done her good- she already felt better than she had this morning. But her magic still wasn’t responding the way it usually did, and that worried her.

Before leaving, she stopped to ask one of the Lamia Scale mages if there was a place nearby where she could take a bath. A good, hot bath always made her feel better when she was sick. Maybe it would help now, too.

He directed her to a local bathhouse, just a few blocks away. So after running back upstairs to grab the supplies Freed had bought her, she set out.

The baths were communal, but fortunately enough the women’s side was empty when she arrived. Fortunate because she didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. She undressed and turned the water temperature up all the way and sank slowly down into the water, making a conscious effort to relax the tension in her muscles. Her whole body ached all over.

Wendy sat there in the bath for what felt like a long time, her mind wandering again. She wondered if anyone had told Charle, enjoying some time of her own with Happy, what had happened to her. She wondered if anyone else at Fairy Tail had heard at all, and what they were thinking if they had. She worried about Chelia some more. She wondered if there was anything, anything at all, that she could be doing that would help her get her healing powers back faster than sitting in this bathhouse getting pruney fingers.

“Wendy-chan?”

“Hmm?”

Groggily, she raised her head, her wet hair laying heavily on her shoulders. Approaching from the entrance was a familiar figure in a stripy towel.

“Oh, Evergreen-san,” she said, sitting up a little straighter.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at Lamia Scale? Don’t tell me you walked all the way over here by yourself!”

“I’m fine, Evergreen-san, really,” Wendy protested weakly as Evergreen tossed aside her towel and waded into the water to press her fingers to her forehead.

“I can’t tell if you’re running a fever or not. You do feel warm, but it might just be because of the bath water. Were you running a fever earlier?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I just felt kind of weak and shaky. I’m ok now, though. _Really_ , I promise.”

“Mmm,” Evergreen pouted, splashing down next to Wendy in the bath. “If you say so, I suppose.”

“Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought for sure the Raijinshuu would be heading back to Magnolia by now.”

“Yes, well. We ended up deciding to stay in the area a little while longer.”

“Really? Why?”

“To look after you, silly!”

“What! You guys don’t have to look after me! I can take care of myself!”

Evergreen laughed. “Oh, Wendy-chan, sweetie, don’t get so worked up. Look, we’re staying because we _want_ to! Not because we’re looking down on you, or anything like that. We just want you to have someone from Fairy Tale on your side through this, and we happened to be in the area, so! What’s the harm?”

“...Oh,” Wendy said, rather dumbly.

“You know we just want to help, right?”

“I know, I know. Laxus-san was really ok with sticking around for a little while?”

“Mmhmm! He would never admit it, of course, but I think he’s worried about you.”

“He is?”

“Yep. You remind me of him a little, when he was your age.”

Wendy made a face, and Evergreen laughed again.

“It’s true! I met him when we were both just little kids. He went through...well, some bad things, in his early teenage years. And he made some bad choices because of it. I think he wants to keep an eye on you, try to stop you from doing something you’ll regret in the future.”

“Makes sense,” Wendy muttered sullenly. “He was in my room this morning lecturing me about revenge.”

“Is that right? Hah, that’s good! Good. I’m glad he’s reaching out. He really has changed.”

“I guess so.”

“Are you going to take his advice?”

“I don’t know. It was kinda vague. But, I’ll try.”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear. Come here, let me wash your hair for you. No, sit down, I’ll do it! You don’t need to be needlessly exerting yourself at a time like this.”

Wendy sighed, gave up on arguing, and handed Evergreen the small bottle of shampoo that Freed had given her. It smelled citrusy, and sweet.

“Thank you, Evergreen-san,” she murmured quietly as the older woman gently massaged the shampoo through her hair and across her scalp.

“You’re welcome, Wendy-chan. You’re welcome. Don’t you worry about a thing, now alright? It’ll all work out alright, in the end.”

The next day, caught in the middle of not wanting to bother anyone at Lamia Scale and wanting to get away from the little room she’d been cooped up in for what felt like forever, Wendy went out to eat. There was a cafe in town she knew, that she had frequented often with Chelia and Charle in her time at Lamia Scale. She went there, ordered a late breakfast of eggs and sausages, and brought it with her to a booth in the corner.

Everyone at Lamia Scale was keeping so busy preparing for the town festival, she wondered if they were actually doing anything about the gang that had robbed the bank after all. Well, fine, if they wouldn’t, she would. Surely the local law enforcement were being more serious about this, and surely _they_ would appreciate her help.

Did it still count as revenge if she was working together with the police, she wondered? The police don’t do revenge, they just serve and protect. But wait, Laxus had told her that revenge was a mindset, not just an action, and that it could coexist with the desire to protect. Maybe the police _did_ do revenge, on, like, an individual basis.

So if that wasn’t going to work, then what? What did she have to do to prove to Laxus- and to herself- that she was ready to go up against these guys again? What was she missing? What was the magic factor that would cancel out the underlying revenge motive in all of this???

“Hey, there, little lady,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up from her plate to see a group of three unfamiliar young men standing next to her table.

“Can I help you?”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before,” said one of them, a blond in a muscle tank top. “You new in town?”

“No,” Wendy said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. “Did you need something?”

“You wanna spend some time with us, doll?” one of the others asked. “We can show you around, if you like.”

“No, thank you, not interested.”

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that.”

“Yeah, let’s have a good time!”

“Thanks, but I’m not-”

“Just trying to be friendly-”

“Hey, Wendy-chan!”

“Bickslow-san?”

“What’s up,” Bickslow said, approaching the table and grinning cheerfully at her. “Fancy meeting you here. How’s your-”

“‘Scuse you, man,” interrupted the blond pointedly.

“What?”

“Can’t you see we were in the middle of a conversation?”

“Yeah? Well, seeing as my friend said she wasn’t interested, I figured you were just leaving,” Bickslow retorted.

The blond and his friends bristled, but after a few moments they apparently decided that Wendy wasn’t worth the trouble of dealing with Bickslow, and left, grumbling under their breaths the whole time.

“Thought so,” Bickslow said, his usual grin returning to his face.

“I could have handled that, Bickslow-san.”

“Sure you could. But you shouldn’t have to. Can I sit down?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Anywho,” he said, sliding into the booth across from her, “how’s your magic today? Any better?”

“A little,” Wendy said. She held out her hand, and willed the air to spin itself into a cyclone in the palm of her hand. The end result was a small, weak, feeble gust of wind that barely even ruffled the napkins in the dispenser on the table. “Not enough to heal Chelia. Not enough to do anything at all, really.”

“Well, it’s better than it was yesterday, right? So, it’ll be better tomorrow than it is today. Give it time.”

“I’m _trying_.”

Bickslow laughed. “Heard that one before, have you?”

“Yeah.”

“Must be good advice, then. You should probably take it.”

“But the robbers-”

“You ain’t responsible for them, are you? Plenty of other people in this town willing and able to catch them with or without your hel-.”

“But I am responsible for them!” Wendy burst out loudly, slamming her hands down onto the table. “I’m the one who let them get away! Lyon-san and Laxus-san and everyone keeps telling me to just wait patiently, but how can you really expect me to do that?! Anything else that happens will be my fault, for failing to catch them the first time! Even if I can’t use magic right now, there has to be something I can do to help find them…”

“You got no magic. What’re you going to do, even if you find them?”

“Alert the authorities.”

“And if they don’t cooperate?”

“It doesn’t matter! I’ll find a way! And I’ll make sure they can never hurt anyone, _ever_ again.”

Bickslow sat in silence for a moment, frowning. “You know, Wendy-chan...I don’t think this whole tough-girl act really suits you. Maybe you should try something else.”

Wendy sighed, exasperated and tired. “I have to be tough,” she muttered. “I’m a dragon slayer, aren’t I?”

“Oh, is that it? You think you gotta be tough just because that’s what everyone _expects_ of you?”

“I...guess?”

“Huh. I think those jerks over there probably _expected_ you to give them the time of day, too. You gonna live your whole life like that, just doing what people expect you to?”

“...No, I guess not.”

“Good. Right answer. Life’s a lot more fun that way, anyway.”

He grinned at her again, and she did her best to smile back.

“Thanks, Bickslow-san. Sorry for raising my voice.”

“Don’t sweat it. Hey, while we’re here, you feelin’ dessert? Chocolate will make you feel better than eggs any day, trust me. Besides, you need all the energy you can get. Hold on, I’mma go up front and order us something with chocolate in it, ok?”

“Ok. I like crepes, if they have them.”

“Hell yeah. That’s what I like to hear.”

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully enough. Upon her return to the guild, Wendy went back to her room and obediently laid down in bed, even though her mind was busy and she would rather be doing about a hundred other things. She had promised the doctor and Lyon and the entire Raijinshuu, on separate occasions, that she would rest, and she was trying to honor her word.

But after only a few minutes, just when she had started to relax and feel like she might actually fall asleep, there came another knock at her door.

“Mmf...Come in,” she called, pushing herself up onto an elbow.

The door opened, and a man Wendy recognized as a member of Lamia Scale but whose name she didn’t know off the top of her head entered.

“Uh, hi,” he said. “How are you feeling, Wendy-san?”

“Well enough,” Wendy said, cringing a little internally at the formal address. “Why, did you need something?”

“No, no. It’s just, the doctor sent me to get you, ‘cause Chelia-san-”

“Chelia?” Wendy demanded, sitting the rest of the way up. “Is she ok? Did something happen? Is she alright?”

“Yeah, I think so. She just woke up.”

“Woke up!” Wendy exclaimed, hastily flinging the blankets off her. “You should have _opened_ with that. Take me to her!”

“But-”

“Now!”

The man closed his mouth and turned to lead Wendy down the hall, around a corner, and a short ways down another hallway.

“Here, Doctor, I brought-”

“Chelia!”

“...Wendy-san. Yeah. I’m gonna go now.”

“Chelia, oh my god…”

Wendy pushed past her guide and into the room, hurrying to her friend’s bedside.

Chelia, covered in bandages and looking pale and wan, gave her a weak smile. “Hey, Wendy.”

“Are you alright? God, you look terrible...Chelia, I am so, so sorry…”

“Yeah, ‘m alright. My ears are ringing, though...”

“Like as not, she has a concussion,” the elderly doctor said gently. “She’ll be a bit out of it for a while, but given time I expect her to make a full recovery. Try not to get her too excited, yes? She needs quiet, and rest.”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Wendy murmured. “Thank you, sir.”

“Of course. I’ll leave the two of you alone for a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry,” Wendy repeated as the doctor let himself out of the room.

“For...what?”

“For this, for what happened to you!”

“Mmm...I don’t remember it being your fault, though,” Chelia said, turning slightly over and reaching out to take hold of Wendy’s hand in her own. “It was that gang we went up against, yeah?”

“Chelia...”

“We went into that together. And we got our butts kicked together. Not your fault. None of it is your fault.”

“Yeah, but...it feels like my fault,” Wendy muttered, eyes downcast. “I underestimated those guys, and I let them draw me out away from you. I could have protected you, I _should_ have protected you!”

“Oh, Wendy.” Chelia squeezed her hand gently. “Always overthinking, always working too hard. One day you’re going to worry yourself to death, you know that?”

“Chelia, I’m serious.”

“So am I. I don’t need your protection, Wendy, and I don’t want it either. You hear me? All I want- all I’ve ever wanted- is your friendship.”

“...Oh...Oh, Chelia...”

Wendy paused to blink away a fresh wave of tears, and Chelia smiled at her.

“Mmhmm. Now we’re on the same page, aren’t we.”

“Y-yeah, I guess we are.”

“Don’t cry. Please. And don’t blame yourself anymore.”

“Sorry. I’ll t-try.”

“Anyway, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Just a little bruised.”

“Uh- _huh_. And how’s that ego?”

“Significantly worse bruised, as of right now.”

Chelia chuckled weakly. “If you can still tell jokes, I think you’ll be ok.”

“I hope so.”

“We’ll both be ok. People without magic healing powers go through this all the time. Sucks right now, but by the time the festival gets here we’ll be laughing over this.”

“Well. I kind of doubt that last part, but, you’re right. I’m getting better, little by little. Soon my powers will be recovered enough to heal your wounds. Fix that ringing in your ears.”

“Can’t lie, I would appreciate that very much right now.”

“Soon. I promise.”

“I believe you.”

“Wendy-san,” the doctor said, quietly pushing the door open once again, “I need to see to Chelia-san now, and she needs to sleep.”

“Already? But I…”

Wendy hesitated, turned back to look at Chelia again, and took a deep breath. He was right. Her friend needed time and space to heal, and Wendy had to give it to her.

“Alright. Ok. Thank you. Chelia, I’ll see you again soon.”

“Mm. Thanks, Wendy.”

Wendy nodded and willed herself to let go of Chelia’s hand. Then she stood up, wiped her eyes again, and left the room once again.

At Evergreen’s and Bickslow’s insistence, Laxus stopped by Lamia Scale in the evening to check on Wendy again. He found her up in her room, rolled over with her face to the wall and the blankets pulled tightly, protectively, around herself.

“Hey. You ok over there?”

“No.”

“...You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Well. Fair enough, I guess.”

“What do you want?”

“Ever and Bicks wanted me to come see how you were doing.”

“Oh.” Wendy rolled over and finally met his gaze. “I’m fine. You should tell them not to worry.”

“You don’t look fine. Not a very convincing argument.”

“I’m _fine_. Just...worried about Chelia.”

“Ah. I heard downstairs that she’s on the mend, though?”

“She’s in pain, and I can’t heal her!”

Laxus sighed, resigning himself to staying here with her a bit longer than he’d anticipated. Wendy clearly needed some more reassurance.

“You know she’s expected to make a full recovery.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And it’s not like that doctor doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s fully qualified to help her.”

“I know, alright!”

“Then what are you sulking in here for?”

“If I had my powers I could heal her faster.”

“But you don’t. And worrying over it isn’t going to make them come back any quicker.”

Wendy groaned, turning over to lay flat on her back. “It’s _hard_. Waiting, not being able to do anything.”

“The best thing you can do now is to relax. I know it’s hard. Believe me, I know. But everything will turn out ok. You know that, don’t you?”

“I should. But it doesn’t really feel like it’ll ever go back to normal.”

“It will.”

“When?”

“When you _relax_.”

“Ugh, you’re no help.”

“What do you usually do to relax, anyway? Maybe I could bring you something?”

“No, that’s ok. You and the Raijinshuu have already done so much for me.”

“Alright. It’s no problem, though. Let me know if you think of anything.”

“Ok. Thanks.” Wendy hesitated, biting her lip. “Laxus-san,” she began, sitting up in bed, “there is something that’s been kind of bothering me. Uh, something unrelated. Can I...can I ask you a weird question?”

“Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“How did you know that you liked Freed-san?”

“...Ah.”

Laxus frowned, wondering how to respond to that.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, waving her hands in front of her. “Sorry, I know, it’s a weird thing to ask. You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s not weird” he said awkwardly, stalling for time while he tried to think of a good answer. Man, he did not want to have this conversation. But, out of everyone, she had asked _him_. That had to mean something. He owed her an honest answer. “It’s...well, it’s kind of complicated.”

“I’ve got time,” she shrugs, smiling a bit ruefully. “Here, why don’t you sit down?”

There weren’t any chairs in her little guest room, but she sat up straighter and moved her legs out of the way. Laxus sighed inwardly, but took the hint and climbed into the bed with her.

“I’m not a good storyteller,” he apologized in advance, leaning back against the headboard. “And this is going to sound stupid, and it definitley won’t be the answer you want to hear, but...when you find someone you really like, you’ll know.”

“Yeah, but how?”

“You’ll just know, ok? It’s a really different feeling than anything you’ll ever feel towards just your friends, even the really close ones. There’s a time when you start to notice little tiny details about the other person, without even trying. You think about them a lot when they’re not there, and you start going out of your way to make them smile when they are. Or at least, that’s how it was for me.”

“So...it doesn’t happen, like, all at once?”

“No, it’s a gradual thing. There might be a big moment when you realize that you actually really like this person, or there might not. I think it’s different for everyone.”

“Was it different between you and Freed-san? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t. I think it was different. It happened a lot faster for him.”

“Did he...well...I-I mean…..”

“Wendy. I’m not gonna get mad at you. Just say it.”

“If he liked you first, did he, like, tell you? Or did he wait until you liked him too?”

“Hmm. That’s a hard question. Again, I think it’s different for everyone, but for us, I was the one who brought it up with him. Freed kinda suspected, I think, that I didn’t like him the same way he liked me, and it was more important for him to remain just friends than to risk that by saying anything about it.”

“So if you were the one to say something, does that mean you knew he liked you back?”

“I was pretty sure.”

“But how!”

“I don’t know! It just felt like it, at the time!”

Wendy sighed. “So, you just have to guess?”

“Pretty much, kid.”

“This sucks.”

“Yeah, well. Once you find the right person, it’ll be worth it.”

“I hope so.”

“I think you have a good chance, with Chelia.”

“What!” Wendy shrieked. “Me, Chelia…?! D-don’t be ridiculous!”

Laxus chuckled in spite of himself, watching her bury her bright red face in her hands.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

“Is it that obvious?” Wendy groaned, her voice somewhat muffled by her hands.

“Easy enough to figure out, since you decided to ask me instead of literally anyone else we know.”

“Do….do you think she knows...?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know her that well.”

Wendy took a few deep breaths. Laxus waited patiently.

“Thank you, Laxus-san,” she said eventually. “Sorry for being...well. Like this,” she muttered, gesturing vaguely.

“It’s fine.”

“I just don’t know what to do. Ever since she got hurt, I just...ugh, I don’t know.”

“You want her to know how much you care about her,” Laxus said quietly. “How much it means to you that she’s alright, and how much it scares you that she might get hurt again. Yeah?”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

“I know the feeling.”

“So what do I do? Do I tell her all that, even if she doesn’t feel the same way?”

“There’s no easy answer to that, Wendy. All I can say is, when the time comes to tell her, you’ll know.”

“But _ho-_ ”

“You’ll _know_ , trust me. You won’t be able to hold it in anymore.”

Wendy sighed. “Ok. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Laxus swung his legs over off the bed and stood up.

“You gonna be ok in here by yourself tonight?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“If you don’t sleep, your wounds’ll heal slower.”

“I knoooooow. I’ll try, promise.”

“Ok. ‘Night, then. I’ll check in again tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

There was a small newspaper stand across the street from the inn that the Raijinshuu were staying in. Laxus paid a few coins for the latest edition of whatever the most popular publication in this was, and brought it back with him to the inn. Up in his room, he sat down in one of the cozy, padded armchairs by the window and opened it up.

There was a short article about the robbery inside. The newspaper simply reported what had been stolen, ‘despite the intervention of two Lamia Scale mages’.

The door opened softly, and Laxus looked up as Freed entered the room.

“Hey,” he said, smiling. “Room for one more?”

“There’s another chair right there.”

“I know there is.”

Laxus rolled his eyes, but made no further attempt to argue. He merely shifted the paper out of the way as Freed climbed into the armchair with him, swinging his legs over Laxus’ knees.

“What’s the news?”

“They’re not reporting the whole anti-magic thing. Didn’t even mention it.”

“Not surprising, is it? Everyone at Lamia Scale knows. No need to worry the public over it.”

“If I was the public, and this was going on in my town, I’d want to know about it.”

“But you wouldn’t _know_ it was going on. That’s the point.”

Laxus sighed. “I guess so.” He set the paper aside and wound his arms around Freed’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. Exactly the kind of casual intimacy that had been so foreign to him at the beginning of this, so awkward for him to get used to.

“Freed?”

“Hm?”

“Did I ever tell you I was sorry?”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“Everything. For getting you kicked out of Fairy Tail, that one time, especially. And for how I treated you, back then. And for all the injuries and times we almost died since.”

“Oh, Laxus…”

He felt one of Freed’s hands come up and gently run through his hair. Something Freed did often. He was so much better about this casual intimacy thing, and always had been. Laxus closed his eyes and leaned into his touch.

“Where is this coming from?”

“Dunno.”

“Don’t know, or don’t want to say?”

“Does that matter? I just want to make sure you know.”

“I know. Even without you saying it, I know.”

“Ok.”

“And I forgive you. You don’t have to apologize, because I forgive you, for all of it.”

“...Ok. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Going to tell me what else is on your mind, or what?”

“Mmm. Wendy asked me for relationship advice earlier.”

“Did she now?” Freed laughed. “That’s unexpected. Why you, and not, I don’t know, Evergreen?”

“I’m thinking partially because of the dragon slayer connection, and partially because of the gay connection.”

“Ahhh.”

“It’s about that other girl who got attacked. Chelia.”

“I see. No wonder she’s been acting out so strongly over this. What did you tell her?”

“...Tried my best.”

“Hah, well, I’m sure you did. Those kinds of questions are hard to answer, especially when they catch you unprepared.”

“You can talk to her, next time.”

“No I will not! She asked you, not me, she doesn’t want to hear it from me.”

“Why not? You could say it so much better.”

“Eloquence is no substitute for shared experiences, Laxus. She empathizes with you on a level that she doesn’t with me. You know that, don’t you?”

“Only too well,” Laxus grumbled.

“Then you do understand.”

“Alright, alright, fine, I’ll help her with her girl problems.”

“Good. In the meantime, I think it’s time to take your own advice and stop worrying so much. What do you say to an early dinner and, then we turn in and go to sleep early?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Freed climbed up out of Laxus’ lap, then turned around to offer Laxus a hand up.

Laxus took it, pulled himself to his feet. Then, on a whim, he leaned in and kissed Freed on the cheek. A small gesture, in place of all the things he felt he probably should say out loud, but couldn’t find the words for. He hoped Freed really did understand how much Laxus loved and appreciated him, even if he never did find a way to say it out loud.

By the way Freed smiled, Laxus figured he had a good enough idea. And that was enough for him.

“Good morning, Ever.”

“Good morning, Bicks. Are the lovebirds not up yet?”

“Nope, not yet.”

Evergreen rolled her eyes dramatically, and Bickslow snickered. Ever since Freed and Laxus had gotten together, teasing the two of them about it had become their teammates’ favorite pastime.

“Well,” she said, settling down in the chair next to him in the inn’s little common room, “I guess we can give them a few more minutes.”

“I guess. Coffee?”

“Please.”

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I don’t know. I think Wendy-chan probably wants us to give her some space.”

“Probably.”

“So we’re all free, then. I guess we could explore the town a little bit.”

“Jeez, I can’t remember the last time we had this kind of free time. I mean, travelling for jobs is one thing, but we never stick around long.”

“We could go shopping! You want to come shopping with me?”

“Sure, why not. Shall we bring the lovebirds?”

“Nah, let them have their alone time. I’m sure they’ll think of _something_ to occupy their time.”

Evergreen puckered her lips and made an exaggerated kissy sound, and Bickslow positively cackled.

At that moment a young woman in a maid’s outfit timidly approached their table.

“Excuse me,” she said hesitantly.

“Yes?” Evergreen prompted over her coffee. “Oh, were we being too loud? Sorry, we’ll keep it down.”

“No, ma’am, that’s not it, there’s been no complaint. No, I just wanted to ask, you two are part of Laxus Dreyar-san’s party, are you not?”

“We are. What appears to be the problem?”

“No problem, ma’am. You have a visitor.”

The maid gestured to the doorway, out to the counter in the lobby. Even at this distance, Wendy’s telltale blue hair gave her away.

“Shall I let her in, ma’am?”

“Yes, please! Thank you.”

“What’s she doing here?” Bickslow hissed as the maid walked away. “And how did she even know we were here in the first place?”

“I don’t know, but if she came all the way over here, it’s probably something important. I’m gonna go wake Laxus and Freed.”

“Ok, good thinking. Yo, Wendy-chan! Over here!”

Bickslow waved, and Wendy waved back in acknowledgement, hurrying towards their table.

“Hello, Bickslow-san,” she said as she approached. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything…?”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. Have a seat, the others will be along in a sec.”

“Ah, ok. Thank you.” Wendy sat in the chair Evergreen had just vacated. She looked a bit on edge, but didn’t volunteer any further information about what had brought her to see them. Bickslow almost asked, but in the end he decided not to push her. She would tell them in her own time. Better not to pry.

“And how are you feeling today?” he asked instead, playing it casual.

“Better, thank you.” Obligingly she held out her hand, and this time there was a miniature cyclone spinning on her palm after only a slight delay.

“Hey, that’s great news!”

“It’s still not at a hundred percent, but it’s definitely better. I was able to do a little bit to help Chelia this morning, which is what I’ve been most concerned about.”

“Good, good, I’m glad.”

“Wendy?”

Freed and Laxus entered the room and hurried over to the table where they were sitting, followed closely by Evergreen.

“What happened,” Freed asked, hastily pushing his mass of messy green hair out of his face. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Wendy assured him. “I just...Um, well, I wanted to ask you guys a question.”

“Oh, is that all? Goodness, you had me worried!”

“Sorry, Freed-san, Laxus-san.”

“It’s fine,” Laxus said, pulling up a chair of his own. “What’s your question?”

“Well…” Wendy took a deep breath. “Well, I still feel responsible for what happened with those robbers. For all the things that were stolen despite our best efforts, and for all the injuries Chelia sustained in the process.”

“Wendy-chan, we’ve been over this. You’re not-”

“Evergreen, let her speak.”

“I know everyone says it’s not my fault,” Wendy said, evidently choosing her words with care. “They say I shouldn’t blame myself. But the fact of the matter is that I was there, and those things still happened despite my best efforts.”

“And?” Freed prompted gently.

“And I want to do something about it, to rectify that. But...but after speaking with Chelia, I think I get it now. I couldn’t even stop them the first time I went up against them, it would be stupid to think I could do anything now, with my magic depleted like this. So, I came here to ask for your help.”

Wendy stood up and bowed low, her long hair falling forward over her shoulders to frame her face.

“Please,” she said quietly, determinedly, “help me fix my mistake. I can’t do it alone. I’ll find a way to repay you somehow, I promise. Please.”

Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed all turned to look at Laxus. In the end, he was their leader, the one who got to make that decision. For a moment, he seemed taken aback by Wendy’s request. But then he smiled.

“Well done, kid,” he said as Wendy hesitantly straightened up again. “You figured it out.”

“R-really? Does that mean you’ll help?”

“‘Course we will. All you ever had to do was ask.”

“We’re your friends, Wendy-chan,” Evergreen put in. “We’ll always have your back.”

“Thank you,” Wendy said, flinging herself back down into a stiff bow again, “thank you so much!”

“Please, Wendy, raise your head. You don’t owe us a thing.”

“But-”

“No buts. Come on now, sit down. If you’re well enough, I think we should get to work as soon as possible.”

“I agree,” Laxus said. “They have a few days head start on us. But we’ll get them. Here’s what we’re gonna do…”

Wendy had known that the Raijinshuu had many years’ experience working together as a team, and that their skills were sought out by people from all over Fiore. But somehow that hadn’t prepared her for exactly how quickly and efficiently they worked. In the end it was all she could do just to keep up.

Before leaving the inn, they threw together a list of people who might be able to give them any useful information, as well as any specific locations that might be worth checking into. Anything that could give them a lead as to where the gang of robbers were, or had been, or would be in the future. Then, using a map they’d borrowed from the front desk, the Raijinshuu plotted out the quickest and most effective route to hit every person and place on their list.

Then they hit the pavement. As it turned out, one of the first people they spoke to was able to give them the name of a local small-time information dealer, and between Bickslow and Laxus they were able to interrogate the gang’s latest hideout out of him; a rundown, otherwise-empty warehouse on the outskirts of town.

They had the robbers bound hand and foot on the ground in front of them with the authorities on the way by sunset.

“You doing ok, Wendy-chan?” Evergreen asked. “Are your wounds ok? You didn’t overexert yourself?”

“I’m ok, Evergreen-san, thanks. Better than ok, I’m _great_. I can’t believe we actually managed to track them down so quickly!”

“We got lucky,” Freed shrugged. “Usually this kind of thing takes at least a few days.”

“And the way you took them out,” Wendy continued, unphased. “They didn’t even have a chance to use those anti-magic weapons!”

“The element of surprise was on our side this time, which definitely helped.”

“But we’re flattered that you found it so impressive,” Bickslow laughed.

“I really did. Man, I feel...I don’t know. I guess I still have a lot to learn.”

“Hey, give yourself at least a little credit, Wendy-chan. You did great out there! Didn’t she, Laxus?”

“Mmhmm. Good job, kid.”

“Oh, yes. And I thought we made quite a team! Wouldn’t you agree, Laxus?”

“...Yes, Evergreen, we did make a good team.”

Wendy frowned. She got the feeling there was something she was missing. She looked questioningly at Freed, but he just smiled.

“I think it wouldn’t hurt for us to give it another shot,” he said, addressing Laxus. “We all have things still left to learn, after all.”

Laxus sighed heavily. “Alright. Fine. Fine, you guys win.”

“Win what? What are you guys talking about?”

“Wendy...did you really feel like you gained something from coming with us today?”

“Yes, of course I did! Didn’t I just say so?”

“And you think you’d benefit from working with us more?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Well, how about it? You wanna make it official, and join the Raijinshuu?”

Wendy’s jaw dropped open, and for a moment, all she could do was stare.

“You mean it? You’d let me come with you?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not.”

“You don’t have to decide all at once,” Freed said hurriedly. “We could have a sort of trial period, if you w-”

“Are you kidding me?! I’d _love_ to!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Thank you guys so, so much! I can’t believe you’d even consider letting me join you, oh my god...”

Bickslow laughed. Evergreen squealed loudly and ran to hug Wendy. Laxus and Freed exchanged smiles.

“Alright, alright, enough,” Laxus said after a moment, raising his hands. “We’ve been here long enough. Now that these guys are taken care of, we should be moving on.”

“What!” Evergreen yelled indignantly. “What about the festival?”

“What about it?”

“It’s tomorrow! I thought we were going to stick around!”

“We agreed only to stick around as long as Wendy needed us to!”

“Oh, come on, what’s one more day going to hurt?”

“I wouldn’t mind sticking around, either.”

“Bicks, stop taking her side, you know that just draws these things out.”

“Do I get a vote?”

“No.”

“Why not? I was going to see if I could spend some more time with Chelia!”

Laxus sighed again.

“As if just Bicks and Ever weren’t enough. The three of you are going to be the death of me.”

“Please, Laxus-san? I’ll never ask for anything else ever again, I promise!”

“Oh, won’t you? Fine, I give up. One more day. But we’re leaving first thing in the morning, and that’s final!”

Wendy beamed at him. “Thank you!”

“That was nice of you,” Freed said quietly as they started back in the direction of their inn in town. “And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“I take offense to that.”

“Sorry. What I mean is, I’m glad you reached out to Wendy, and that you’re committed to building a relationship with her.”

“Is that how you see it?”

“Yes. Yes it is. I just hope you can see what else I see. About how far you’ve come, since you were her age.”

“Oh, I see it,” Laxus said, watching Wendy bounce along ahead of him, chatting happily with Bickslow and Evergreen. “I’m not sure how I should feel. You think I’m making the right choice?”

“I do. You trust me?”

“I do. I do.”

Freed smiled, and reached out to take Laxus’ hand. The five of them walked on through the darkening streets.

And in that moment, their future seemed very, very bright.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!!


End file.
